Home Design Software Review

June 23rd, 2014

Home design shows make renovation look so easy. Just remove a wall here and add one there and your dream house will take shape overnight. Though that may not be entirely true, the design portion of the process really can be that easy, especially with the right home design software.

Whether you want to make a new floor plan for one room or build an entirely new home with all of your favorite ideas incorporated into one place, the right interior design software can help you bring the project into focus. The best of them even offer 3D views so you can tell how your future home would feel as you walk through it.

In our search for the best 3D home design software, we looked for the products that are easy to use and loaded with great features. We like the ones that let you design every last detail of your home, including stairway styles, outlet sizes and specific plants outside your front door. We were especially impressed with Home Designer Suite 2015, Punch Home & Landscape Design and TurboFloorPlan 3D Home & Landscape Pro. These products can save you a lot of money, allow you to predict costs and make sure you really like what you plan before you start demolishing or digging. For more tips and information, visit our learning center for articles on home design software.

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Home Design Software: What to Look For

There are many aspects to designing your dream home, so you need home design software that is versatile. You want software that is sophisticated enough to design the finest details of your house plan, but you also want the software to be easy to use with sample home plans and room templates. The best home design software not only has all the tools to fully remodel your home but landscaping and topography tools as well.

Features
Whether you are a beginner or an advanced home design software user, you want software that is easy to use. An intuitive program gives you the ability to create your dream home from scratch with few frustrations. Software with a wide variety of sample home plans can help you get familiar with the software as well as give you ideas for your custom floor plan.

First-rate design software offers tools that give you maximum design freedom in every detail, including lighting effects and landscape design. Many of the best applications offer a cost estimator to give you a useful estimate of how much it will cost to complete the project.

The ability to view your house designs is a crucial aspect of this software. Most applications allow you to view your plans in 2D and 3D. The best home design software lets you set custom camera angles so you can fly around your virtual property and walk through a 3D digital model of the house.

Design & Construction Tools
As you design your own home, you need software with tools to simplify the process. Tools such as a roofing wizard, deck designer and framing editor make the design process much smoother. They also allow you to add a personalized touch to your home design. You can add color schemes and textures similar to those you wish to add to your home. Additionally, you can use the software to incorporate your property's topography to see how your house will look in its surroundings.

Object Libraries
Having an extensive object library is important for completing your design. We looked for libraries that offer hundreds of objects for both the interior and exterior of your home. Extensive plant libraries are also important because they allow you to create a landscaped yard with the type of plants you want to have. Many home design applications even allow you to import 2D or 3D photos into your design so that you can have a picture of your family in the hallway or the custom cabinet your grandfather made in your bedroom.

Help & Support
With the complex nature of the project, the help and support options for house design software should offer clear, step-by-step instructions. The information in help files and tutorials should be simple to understand and well organized. We looked for manufacturers that offer telephone and email support. User forums, user manuals and FAQs are also valuable support resources to help you if you become stuck.

Floor plan software is a valuable tool whether you're building your first home or your fifth. The applications in our lineup will help you design your home down to the small details and without unnecessary stress.